Marketers should connect with homebuilders, PERC exec saysPropane marketers should connect with homebuilders associations to expand their client base and boost their market visibility, said Bridget Scanlon, residential and commercial programs director at the Propane Education & Research Council. "Once you establish a network of members, your ability to generate opportunities and leads will quickly provide a return on your investment. ... You have potential clients in every member that owns a business, a home or a lawn mower," she said. LPGasMagazine.com
(10/3)

Paraco Gas opens new facility in N.Y.Paraco Gas is putting all of its operational units under one roof as it has opened a new facility in Saugerties, N.Y. The facility will house Paraco's logistics, customer service and service dispatch for upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts. "After all the years of being fractured and working in separate facilities, we finally have the opportunity to put all of our resources under one roof. All of our operational units will be here, which will offer a unified approach to delivery service and customer service, with a primary focus on the customer," said Paraco Regional Manager Sean Ackerman. LPGasMagazine.com
(10/3)

Roush CleanTech plans to ramp up autogas product offeringsRoush CleanTech plans to expand its product offerings of propane autogas technologies in a bid to provide more options for fleet operators who want to transition to autogas. "Our plan is to have the full Ford commercial lineup for propane autogas. We will be launching propane autogas versions of the E-450, 550, and eventually 650. We are moving up the GVW scale because our customers are telling us to go that way. They also want to get away from diesel. We started with lighter duty vehicles and are moving to medium duty," said Todd Mouw, Roush CleanTech's vice president of sales and marketing. GreenFleetMagazine.com
(10/3)

Safety & Training

Emergency responders mitigate leak at Hess' N.J. refineryEmergency responders were able to stop a propane leak Wednesday at Hess' refinery in Port Reading, N.J. "Emergency responders at the scene are working to disperse the vapors safely. Nonessential personnel have been evacuated from the facility, while refining and gasoline and distillate product loading operations are continuing as normal. There have been no injuries," said Jon Pepper, Hess vice president of corporate communication. MyCentralJersey.com (Somerville, N.J.)
(10/3), Reuters
(10/3)

Leadership & Management

Bald men get more chances to shine, researchers sayMen who are bald get bumped into positions of authority more often than their well-coiffured or merely thinning counterparts, researchers say. Totally bald men are perceived as masculine and dominant, a study found, perhaps explaining the "power-buzz look" adopted by bosses such as DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg and Amazon.com chief Jeffrey Bezos. The Wall Street Journal
(10/2)

Tim Cook's apology shows Apple has lost its wayApple CEO Tim Cook was compelled to make a public apology for the company's atrocious Maps application -- and the language he used was revealing, writes Niraj Dawar. Apple's goal, Cook declared, is to ship world-beating products; his predecessor Steve Jobs would likely have argued instead that Apple's task was to thrill its customers and to earn their trust. "Steve Jobs seemed to intuitively know where Apple's customers were at, and steered the company in their direction," Dawar writes. "Tim Cook, on the other hand, looks like he will need a good map to guide him. Oops." Just Marketing blog
(9/30)

PERC News

New Propane Energy Update AvailableA new Propane Energy Update has been posted, bringing the latest in training, safety information, products and analysis of the trends affecting the residential construction industry. This month the Update features stories on venting tankless water heaters, a builder's dream home fueled by propane and small-construction equipment that runs on propane. See the new issue.

Bob-Cat Joins PERC's Mower Dealer Demo ProgramMower manufacturer Bob-Cat has joined Husqvarna and Kubota as participants in the Propane Education & Research Council's Dealer Demonstration program. Propane-fueled mowers from the manufacturers are on display at about 100 mower dealers in 31 states and available for test use. Dealers get a discount on a mower purchase and landscape contractors can test the mower. Learn more about the Dealer Demo program.

The news summaries in PERC SmartBrief are based on original information from news organizations and are produced by SmartBrief Inc., an independent email newsletter publisher.
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The Propane Education & Research Council promotes the safe, efficient use of odorized propane gas as a preferred energy resource. The Council was authorized by Congress
with the passage of the Propane Education and Research Act (PERA), October 11, 1996.